


Last Goodbyes and First Hellos

by Ruunkur



Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Everyone else plus their digimon, M/M, None of them are important though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-20 01:01:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15522606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruunkur/pseuds/Ruunkur
Summary: Years in silence, lost in your thoughts, you wonder if you will ever see him again.





	Last Goodbyes and First Hellos

**Author's Note:**

> For Odaiba Memorial day! Enjoy!
> 
> I have come to accept that I have a thing for both scars and tattoos!

You heave a sigh, your gaze drifting upwards as you sit in the park. Memories danced before you, some so real you felt that you could reach out and pull them in close. Others were further away, blurring together. Those that slink further out of reach seem to be the ones that you want to hold closer, mocking you and offering you nothing but pain.

Just outside of your leafy shelter, you could see the rain coming down. It's the first of August, once a day that had brought you joy for the things that you had seen. Now, it brings you uneasy. You lift a hand up, touching the goggles almost unconsciously around your neck, your fingers tightening on the strap to remind you that they were there. They were a weight that let you know it had happened.

"Yamato?"

You incline your head when you hear your name, your eyes drifting towards the speaker. Your younger brother stood there, an umbrella held in his hand.

"You're going to get sick, sitting in the rain."

You glance down, the realization that your leafy shelter hadn't been as useful as you had previously thought sinking in. You look up at your brother, opening your mouth to say something, anything, but you close it again, gaze drifting away.

"We're worried about you, Yamato."

You push yourself off the ground, brushing off the seat of your pants and you offer Takeru a half shrug, stepping into the shelter of the umbrella.

"Dad sent me to come find you. Said you... He said you weren't home last night. Did you spend all night out here?"

You hesitate, hands held at your side before you shake your head, reaching into a pocket to find the notebook that you had tried to keep on you. You fail finding it, Takeru shifting the umbrella to one hand and digging in his school bag. He handed you a notepad, finding a pen a moment later.

Your gaze catches his notes briefly before you flip to a clean page, the pen being offer to you. You hesitate before taking it, tapping the top against the paper as you consider what you want to say. You feel trapped as you hold the pen to the paper, taking a step closer to Takeru to ensure that the page did not get soaked, though the water was dripping onto the paper and making it run.

_I'm fine._

You hesitate as you write the words, realizing that wasn't what he actually wanted to hear, see, whatever. You cross out the words in anger, seeing your hand tremble.

"Come on, let's go somewhere to get coffee." Takeru bundled you towards the entrance of the park and you let him, feeling useless as your hand drops with the notepad to your side. You follow him to the nearest cafe, picking out a secluded area to sit while he ordered drinks for you both.

You stare at the paper in front of you, the scribbled out sentence mocking you as you put the pen to paper. When you were younger, it had been so easy to write out how you felt. Now, you found it harder and harder to figure out what you wanted to say, even when the paper was your only means of writing. You see the cup be set down in front of you, Takeru sitting next to you, both of you with your backs to the wall and your eyes on the door.

"The others are worried to."

You sigh, pressing the tip of the pen to paper.

_I was fine._

"You're soaking wet," Takeru commented, glancing at the words.

_I was about to come home._

He moves, his hand resting on your wrist. You use your free hand to grab your tea, taking a sip to give you time to think, to give Takeru time to respond to your words.

"Where were you last night?"

_At a friend's._

This was easy to write, the lie coming readily to the tip of your pen. You see Takeru cast you the look of disbelief, his eyebrow raising. "Try again,"

_I can have other friends._

"But you hardly talk to our friends now."

You scowl at your brother, knowing that he is write as you set your drink down. You shift next to him, gaze darting to the people around you. You could feel them staring at you, whispering and you want to sink into the booth, hide away from the stares. Winter was easier, you could wear scarfs then.

_What does it matter?_

Takeru sighed when he saw the question, resting his elbow on the table and settling his hand in his chin, gaze fixed to stare out the window. "Daisuke, Ken, and I have been talking about moving in together. Mom thinks it's too soon, but we all have steady jobs and I don't think I could live with her any longer. You know, she still thinks that we're just really good friends."

You listen to him, knowing that the subject was a sore spot for your parents. Your hand tremble, the pen making a jagged mark when you moved to set it down. You slump your shoulders, leaning back in the booth.

"I've tried explaining it to her, but I guess she just doesn't see how it could work. I think she just wants us to be happy, but doesn't know how to support us, given how we turned out. I don't blame her." There was a bitter laugh, Takeru glancing at his brother. He sported his own scars, his hands littered with them, scars that you knew branched upwards on his arms.

You reach over, touching his extended wrist and tapping it twice, reassuring him in the quietest way you knew. He moved, holding his palm flat and looking at the scar on his wrist. You do the same, the two scars each reflecting the crest that had been taken from you, on that last trip.

You take the pen again, setting it on the paper.

_Do you think we did the wrong thing?_

Takeru looks at the question, startled. He swings an arm around you, pulling you into a hug and you feel off balanced, unused to him comforting you.

"Taichi."

It's a statement, but you sense the question underneath and you nod, squirming out of his grip.

"It's possible he's still alive."

You stare at Takeru, the words seeming to drag you down as you realize what he's implying. You tap the pen against the notepad, pulling it closer to you and scribbling as quickly as you could think.

_I don't know-what if he is still alive- Do you think?_

You stare in frustration at the half sentences, taking a breath and calming yourself. You pull the pen away, considering the next couple of statements before you begin to write.

_Has Koushiro made any progress regarding the Digital World? The only possibility of finding them is..._

Takeru rests his hand on yours, stilling the pen. "It's one of the other reasons I came to get you. He's managed to open a gate, but we thought... We thought it would be better if we were all there, for when he first sends us back. Will you come with us, Yamato?"

You raise your gaze, watching your brother and seeing the hopeful expression on his face. You give him a sharp nod, watching him smile. It breaks your heart, seeing how happy he was at the smallest sign of your agreement. You set the pen aside, picking up your drink and cradling it between your fingers. It's a nice quiet that settles between you, nothing strained or uncomfortable.

You sit like that until you both finish your drinks, Takeru leading the way.

***

_You let out a shout of surprise, feeling the harsh winds lash at you. It's dark as you cling to the back of MetalGarurumon, the fighting below you having grown confusing minutes before. You hunch yourself down as a stray attack is blasted towards you, MetalGarurumon struggling to remain upright._

_"Takeru!" You scream, seeing your brother dive to the side on the ground. MetalGarurumon is torn as Seraphimon shoots past you, towards his partner. You look over in time to see the angel be struck by the blow that had been aimed towards your brother, terror gripping your heart as Seraphimon shatters into fragments of data._

_Over the storm, you hear Takeru scream, the sounds making you cringe against MetalGarurumon, your face hidden, but only for a moment. You straighten, tightening your grip as you see Holydramon circle around, taking on the dark digimon that had taken down Seraphimon. You see, from the corner of your eye, Daisuke and Ken run towards their partner, dragging him backwards from his spot. The earth rumbles underneath them, the three escaping before the blast of an attack leaves a crater there._

_"Yamato, I have to take you to the ground!"_

_You swallow hard as you feel MetalGarurumon began to descend, the digimon thrown off track as the next attack is aimed at him. You had lost track of who you were fighting, the twelve of you having descended upon a battle that was raging. None of you had understood what side you were meant to be on, both sides having turned to you. On the ground, you could see Mim huddled next to Jou, who was patching up an unconscious Koushiro. Vikemon and Rosemon stood near them, offering them what protection they could._

_You're thrown from MetalGarurumon in the next attack, colliding with the ground ten feet under you in a heap. It's a blur as you try to raise your hands, almost the full force of an attack hitting you. There's pain covering your body, Rosemon already taking you towards the field doctor._

_There's a pain in your neck, something you can't describe as Jou looks up and you catch the look of terror. He hurries to your side, breathing growing harder for you as he presses a clean towel to your neck, shouting something to Mimi that you couldn't make out. Above you, you hear MetalGarurumon's anguished howl, and the sound of your boyfriend screaming in rage._

_It's the last thing you make out, the sound of screaming so suddenly choked off. You fall unconscious after that, waking up in a hospital bed with a bruised Takeru by your side. You see the look of terror in his eyes, the teenager lifting a hand, arms covered in bandages from palms to nearly his shoulders before he jolts out of the chair, running out of the room._

_Seconds later, there's a nurse coming in, looking harassed. When she see's you're awake, she's asking all sorts of questions that you can hardly begin to comprehend. You hesitate, opening your mouth and finding nothing that came out, all your words trapped below the bandages that wrapped around your throat. You stare in horror as the nurse nods, her words not even penetrating your ears anymore._

_Takeru catches your attention when she leaves, resting a hand on your wrist and you try to draw back, lifting your wrist to see the bandage there. You move to take it off, Takeru shaking his head._

_"We won the fight," he whispered. "At the cost of our partners, they won. We're branded, forever." He added, pulling back his own bandages and showing you the crest of hope torn into his skin. He let out a laugh than before his laughter sank into sobbing, his head buried in the sheets next to your side. You reach over, resting a hand on his shoulder and offering what little comfort you could._

***

You look up at the apartment door, Takeru knocking confidently on it. Koushiro opened it, beckoning you both in with a strained smile.

"You look like shit," Takeru observed as you heard several people call out greetings. There were eight other people gathered in the apartment, huddled together despite there being more than enough space to spread out.

"Five years to reconstruct code that I had only seen a handful of times," Koushiro mumbled, sitting into a chair and running a hand through his hair. Miyako reached out, touching his shoulder in sympathy. You knew the two had grown close, working on the code together. Your gaze scans the room, finding Hikari huddled in a chair, Sora and Mimi standing next to her as silent statues. You walk over, nodding at Hikari.

"Hello Yamato." Her voice sounds cheerful, despite the dead look in her eyes and you shudder when she glances away.

You study the others, watching as Jou fiddled with a pen, Sora tapping her fingers against her leg, Mimi chattering nervously. Ken and Iori were standing the furthest from the group, but still apart of it even in their silence. Daisuke bounced on the balls of his feet, Koushiro and Miyako looking over the code one last time. Takeru moved forward, looking at the code curiously while you stand to the side, feeling almost foolish.

"There," Koushiro made one last correction, his gaze hovering over the enter button. He looked at the others, his gaze landing on you. You reach up, tugging on Taichi's goggles and nodding.

"Digital gate, open!" Miyako cried as Koushiro pressed the enter key. It was silent for several minutes, none of you daring to look at the others. A flash of brilliant light caught everyone off guard, sweeping them into the computer. All of you stumble as you hit the ground, the vibrant colors of the digital world greeting you.

You remember the first August First that you had been deposited into the digital world, before you knew of the scars that would be left behind. It was August first, two thousand and nine, exactly ten years since you first went to the digital world, four years since you had last fought there, to the day.

You stared at the world that all of you had thought it was impossible to return to, the idea seeming like a dream but you were standing there now, Koushiro taking in a breath before he pulled Miyako into a hug, his excitement becoming contagious to all of you.

It's only in your celebration that you all realize what was missing. Looking at your group, the eleven of you, it felt wrong to know that Taichi had never come back. You watch as the others begin to move away from your original landing spot. You reach out, catching Koushiro's wrist. He glances at you, frowning.

_Do we have a way back?_

You wrote the question without looking, showing it to Koushiro. He opened his mouth, looking embarrassed as he shook his head.

"Hopefully," he keeps his voice low as he takes a step towards you, "we can use the digivices to activate the gate on this side."

You nod, stepping away and running a hand through your hair as you consider the information before you. It's several minutes of exploring before you hear a sharp whistle, all eleven of you racing towards the sound. You see the baby digimon sitting around the rocks, your gaze landing on Tunomon. The digimon bounds towards you, throwing himself at your chest and you wrap your arms around him.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" He's babbling, all of your partners are and you feel close to tears as you bury your face in his body, hands trembling. It's a relief that they hear you.

Around you, you can hear the conversations play out, but you focus on the one thing that stands out, the missing Koromon that should have been with the group. It's a moment before Tunomon grows quiet, realizing that you aren't responding.

"Yamato... Did I upset you?" The digimon asks, trembling in your arms. You quickly shake your head, glancing around in frustration. It's a moment before Takeru comes to your rescue, jogging over with Tokomon in his arms.

"He can't talk anymore." Your brother explains, Tunomon blinking up at Takeru in confusion and you stifle a sigh, the only sound you could really make. "During...during the fight, after Seraphimon had been..." He hesitates over his words, Tokomon pressing close to him as if to remind him that it was over with. "Yamato had been hit with an attack. It ruined his vocal cords. He can't talk anymore."

You nod along sadly, Tunomon glancing between you and Takeru before he seems to give you a determined look. "That's okay! I can talk for both of us." The small digimon promised, growing relieved that it wasn't him that was causing your silence.

"Nyaromon, do you know where Koromon is?"

You turn towards Hikari when you hear the question, the young woman holding her digimon close. Nyaromon frowned, tail twitching as she considered the question.

"He left, several years ago." The digimon hesitated, swallowing hard. "Said there was something he had to do."

"Mochimon, do you know what it was?" Koushiro asks, while Jou and Pukamon share a glance. Mimi has her arms tight around Tanemon, Pyocomon bouncing up and down in front of Sora and saying her name. Ken has a death hold on Minomon, while Daisuke was letting Chibimon run circles around him. Iori and Upamon stood, waiting for an answer.

"No," the digimon responds, voice sad. "He said he would come back, but he never did."

The children and their digimon all share a glance, Yamato growing despondent. Takeru squeezes your shoulder. When you hear a crashing in the forest, you all freeze, the sound of laughter reaching your group.

"Man, look what the cat dragged in!"

You watch as the Greymon comes out of the forest, a young man sitting on his shoulder. He slides down the digimon's back, turning to look at the group, his gaze shifting to stare at you. You clutch Tunomon to your chest, seeing Taichi in one piece. His hair is as wild as ever, seeming to only have grown upwards, rather than down like most normal hair. His clothes have been replaced for something more sturdy for the digital world and he has grown in the past few years. He reaches out, steadying himself with Greymon as his balance.

"It's good to see you again," Taichi swallows, his words wavering. "Never thought..."

There's a crash as you run into him, knocking him to the ground in a hug. Tunomon had bounded out of your arms before you fell, your arms wrapped around his shoulders. Taichi lets you, his arms snaking up to steady you. You feel as if you had been given back a piece of yourself, seeing Taichi and your partner again. It's only when he pushes you up that it clicks into place.

"We can't get back."

The words hang, heavy, on the air and you swallow back the fear.

"I don't know how you managed to get past the firewalls that surround this place, but we can't get back out. I tried, for the first two years, I tried... I'm sorry Yamato," his final words are whispered towards you and you shake your head, rubbing at your eyes. His gaze flicks down to the scars decorating your neck and you have the urge to hide them, though you don't.

"It's August first, we couldn't have not tried." Koushiro spoke up, the others breaking out of their trances.

"It doesn't matter if we can't get back!" Mimi said with a snort, holding Tanemon close. "As long as I'm with Tanemon, I don't care."

The sentiment was choresed by the others, Yamato closing his eyes and nodding his own agreement. He could see the pain in Taichi's eyes, but he merely nodded.

"Then welcome home." He whispers and you pull him into a tighter hug, feeling the words swell up in your chest as you let yourself cry for the first time since you woke up from the battle.


End file.
